The Watchers team and our contributors bring the latest on extreme weather, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, space weather, and all things science. We're all about making sense of the natural world and keeping you informed on what’s happening. Got a tip or a question? Hit us up using the form at newstips!
A rare daylight meteor was seen over North Carolina around 18:03 EDT on September 8, 2016 (22:03 UTC). At around the same time, a bright meteor exploded over Cyprus and parts of it are believed to have fallen north of the island. The American Meteor Society received…
A bright meteor exploded over Cyprus and was observed across a wide area of the south of the island around 00:45 local time on Friday, September 9, 2016 (21:45 UTC on September 8). The phenomenon was followed by a sonic boom, prompting hundreds of calls to the…
NASA's first-ever asteroid sample return mission, OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer), was launched September 8, 2016 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spacecraft thus started its two-year 193…
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.3 (downgraded from M6.7) hit near Macquarie Island, Australia at 21:46 UTC on September 8, 2016. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). Geoscience Australia is reporting M6.3 at a depth of 0…
A new study published today in the Cell Press journal Current Biology shows a catastrophic decline in wilderness areas around the world over the last 20 years. Researchers demonstrated alarming losses comprising a tenth of global wilderness since the 1990s, with the…
At least 4 people have died and one is missing after heavy rains caused heavy flooding in southern and northern parts of Greece on Wednesday, September 7, 2016. The floods destroyed homes and swept cars out to sea. The flooding hit towns and cities from…
On Thursday, September 8, 2016, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) has raised the alert status of Mayon volcano from Alert Level 0 to Alert Level 1. This means that the volcano is in an abnormal condition and has entered a period of…
USGS Geophysicist Daniel McNamara said that September 3, 2016 Mw5.8 Pawnee, Oklahoma earthquake was not on a fault known by the USGS. Instead, it happened on a fault perpendicular which intersected the fault. Based on aftershock patterns, this one is an unknown…
The U.S. Geological Survey has updated the official magnitude of the September 3, 2016 Pawnee, Oklahoma earthquake to Mw5.8 (from 5.6), making it Oklahoma’s largest recorded earthquake to date. "The magnitude revision is based on further in-depth analysis…
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New activity/unrest was reported only for 1 volcano between August 31 and 6, 2016. During the same period, ongoing activity was observed at 11 volcanoes. New activity/unrest: Sinabung, Indonesia. Ongoing activity: Colima, Mexico | Dukono, Halmahera (Indonesia) |…
